A long time head remarked on fb- as he was in attendance, many in attendance that night were not happy with this show at the time. Coming off the heals of Winterland- and easily one of the best shows of the year on 2/24/74, one could be picky but if this is as worse as it got back in 1974...well beam me back Scotty.

Part of this show was officially release as Dick Pick' #24 and was only the third official release from 1974 so that says something too-Dick Latvala loved this show.

This show was the debut of the " Wall of Sound" sorry no acronyms for this electronic masterpiece in my reviews. Now what is noteworthy about this show is that the band really are playing quite well, actually extremely well, the entire performance. The first set is played with text book perfection, and granted it is a slow burn up until El Paso, things do heat up nicely and they end the first set on a typical high note for 1974.

The road crew really must've been all hands on deck, as there are no obvious equipment malfunctions and the band clearly was on it's best behavior. So well done everyone!

Yes there is a misstep to start the second second but they quickly regroup and play a stunningly beautiful rendition of the epic quinctus suite. Which is played with effortless perfection- and granted it may not be as fiery and explosive as 11/17/73, it was the last time it was ever played.

Phil is more reserved the entire show then he was a month ago at Winterland, but Jerry is playing extremely well. The rest of the second set may look " boring" on paper but is extremely fun to listen to and the race to the finish is quite good. This show is historically significant and deserves much more recognition.

Happy trails!

While I very much appreciate the effort Mind Wondrin' goes through to research & review shows, I think that reviewer is SUPER picky...pickier than I am, and that's stupid picky. There is no way, to my mind, that this show is mid-grade. Some seem to think it pales in comparison to other 74 shows, but I've heard others from the same year that I like a lot less.

To begin with, the sound on every currently existing and streamable copy on the archive is excellent, including both AUD versions: warm, well-mixed and spacious.

While Jerry MAY not be as on as at some points in the year, just compare this to what he can do on the same day of the year 1972, at the New York Music Academy. No comparison! And many people think 72 was a hot year, though I tend to disagree. In addition, Bob, Phil and especially Keith are on fire, and Donna is nowhere near as bad as she generally is, actually she sounds good on BIODTL & Cassidy. At about 2/3 of the way through the 1st set (China Rider), I see nothing to bring this show lower than a solid 5.

I generally prefer set sequence to be as accurate as possible, so I don't rate this one, as the set list is switched around to make room on discs, which anyone can do for themselves.

This show probably wouldn't draw as much attention if it wasn't one of the "historical" shows (first to use the nearly-complete Wall of Sound PA, first Scarlet and first Cassidy) - despite the "historical" shows usually being less-noteworthy, musically. The WoS PA went on the road a couple months later when it lit out to Reno (where the touring config's completed, flown cabinet sections actually debuted), Missoula and points beyond until being deprecated that fall. Parts had been used before this show and parts continued to be added and tweaked, but this was the first monster-wall with the majority of the cabinets. It was cannibalized when they went back on the road in '76.

The set list looks long but that's because there's no Drums>Space and lots of songy songs, like a 2:45 Me & My Uncle (though the 2nd set is almost two hours). Quality is all over the map and though the majority is on Dick's #24, it misses most of the best tracks, so you still need the Board. The WoS has the recognizable miking with the antiseptic separation and this show also has the '74 left coast, funk patina common to the era. It's not 6/26/74, 8/06/74, or 9/11/74 by a long shot but has a couple cool sections.

Skeletons had just come out and though most of us show-listeners have never paid attention to it, it was the band's biggest seller and brought in lots of newbies in '74 and '76 (when you would go into a record store and the only albums racked would be that or the more expensive Long Strange Trip comp). This show was also FM-simulcast.

1st Set. Bobby is on but Jer and the rhythm section aren't; the Bobby songs are best. The guitars are detuned throughout. The first few songs are average-to-below but after a clunky Brown-Eyed, Bobby whips out a letter-perfect Mexicali. Jer's first warmed-and-ready eruption is the careening solo on Tennessee. Black-throated is rough and the first-ever Scarlet is interesting but not yet developed. Donna invents her own key on BiODtL-7. Must Have Been the Roses is the 3rd one and is just starting to shape. Listen to Billy riding his ride on a hot El Paso chucked with Jer's fills and double-stops. Bobby's good on Deal and check him teasing the newbies. Though Cassidy mostly trainwrecks, Keith and Billy are good - after this poor premier they shelved it until '76 (much different than the 90s when unformed songs were horse-beaten weekly)! China has a unique theme but it doesn't quite work. The proggy Weather Report didn't always suit the Dead in '74 (9/10/74 notwithstanding). It's 13:00 before it gets good. An average Let it Grow ends an average '74 set. GOGD.

2nd Set. There's a big sandwich (Playin>UJB>Dew>UJB>Playin) that looks good on paper but it's the second half of the set that shines. After a false start Playin' is creaky until a great jam ('74 was a peak year for Playin'), and then a way-cool tranny into UJB, but there are more tuning issues in the still-better, bottom bread of the sandwich. Maybe it was really humid. The bands then goes on a tear through several smokers with a quick Me & My Uncle (slotted in the middle of a second set...) and a Bertha just unique enough to stand out. After that, momentum is lost (though the tranny into Sugar Mag is kewl) and Donna again insists on her own key. The rough encore (backstage fun?) starts with a tentative, flat Casey Jones and after a goodbye a slightly better Saturday Night. It's interesting, with great highlights, but overall not a top '74 show.

1st Set:  C+
2nd Set: B
Overall = 3¼ Stars

Highlights:
Mexicali - Tight as hell and not on DP24. Don't miss.
Tennessee - Great solo, not on DP24
El Paso - Billy great, not on DP24
UJB-Playin - last part of a sandwich with amazing UJB Reprise
Big River - so good in '74
Ramble on Rose - Solid version, not on DP24
Me & My Uncle - very bouncy version, not on DP24
Bertha - a bit different and in a weird position

SOURCES: The Lai.1186 source is best for the songs missing from Dick's #24 (though they are not in order), except for the encore and Around, where the clugston-orf.1995 is better. Part of the SBDs are actually post-FM. You get a little better sound on DP24 but as usual the tracks end with what's already the next song on the disc (and not necessarily the show), and instead of the AUD patch on Sugar Magnolia, 30 seconds are edited out.